Sunken vessels



P. G. FORD '81: P. PLANT.

DEVICE FOR RAISING SUNKEN VESSBLS AND ALSO FOR PREVENTING VESSELS FROMSINKING.

No. 19,500. Patented Mar, 2, 1858.

lll ll I l ll lrll'llil uu mull-imam! H H II III III] II H I E I UNITEDSTATES PATENT OFFICE.

F. G. FORD, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., AND P. PLANT, OF WASHINGTON, DISTRICT OFCOLUMBIA.

"METHOD OF RAISING SUNKEN VESSELS.

Specification of Letters Patent No. 19,500, dated March 2, 1858.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, FREDERICK G. FORD, of the city, county, and Stateof New York, and PAsoAL PLANT, of Washington, in the District ofColumbia, have invented a new and useful Apparatus or Device to be Usedin the Raising of Sunken Vessels and also .in Preventing Leaking VesselsFrom Sinkover it, our improvement being applied to the wrecker. Fig. 3,is a side view of the sinking vessel shown in Fig. 1. Fig. 4, is a sideview of the sunken vessel shown in Fig. 2. Fig. 5, is a detached topview of the tube and chain. Fig. 6, is a section of the chain showing anadditional central chain.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the severalfigures.

This .i'nvention consists in the employment or use of a chain peculiarlyconstructed and used in connection with a tube as hereinafter shown,whereby chains may be passed underneath and around sunken vessels andalso underneath and around vessels in a sinking state, and by means ofinflated bags or other suitable air vessels which are attached to thechains that are passed underneath the vessels, the same, if sunken, maybe raised by the buoyant power of the air bags, or, if in a leaking andsinking state made sufficiently buoyant to be kept afloat until succorarrives, and the leak stopped.

The invention may also be applied to the raising of obstructions fromthe beds of rivers and harbors such obstructions as are not permanentlyattached to the beds as snags, boulders and the like. 7

To enable those skilled in the art to make and use our invent-ion wewill proceed to describe its construction and the way in which it isused.

A, Fig. 1, is a vessel on the deck of which at any proper place a smallframing B, is placed a portion of which projects over or beyond one sideof the vessel.

0, is a vertical tube which is fitted in the framing B, and allowed tomove freely up and down therein, the outer side of the tube having asunken rack (a) formed in it, in which rack a pinion D, in the framing Bgears. The tube may be constructed of cast iron of quadrilateral formand in pieces connected together in any proper way.

E, is a chain the links (1)) of which, may be constructed of cast ironand of quadrilateral form. The links (6) are connected together byjoints (0) and the ends of each are not parallel but are formedobliquely with each other, slightly converging from the outer to theinner sides of the links so that each link forms the segment of a circleand allows the chain E, to bend in circular form in one direction asshown in Fig. l. The chain E, may be of greater or less length as may bedesired and the longer terminal link is pointed or made in the form of adrill, see Fig. 1. The inner sides of the links (6) have recesses (6)made in them and these recesses form a sunken rack, in which a pinion F,gears, said pinion being in the framing B, and working through avertical slot in the back of the case. Through the links (1)) a small orcomparatively small chain Gr, passes. The lower end of this chain G, isattached to the inner side of the terminal link (d) as shown at (65*),and the chain passes through the links near their inner edges as shownclearly in Figs. 1 and 2.

In the section of the chain E, Fig. 6, an additional chain H, is shown.This chain H, is precisely the same as the chain G, but passes throughthe links (66 of the chains E, near their outer sides. 11 the framing B,a pulley I, is placed, as shown clearly in Figs. 1 and 2.

The operation is as follows. Suppose the vessel A, Fig. 1, to be in asinking state and supplied with our apparatus or device. The chain E,may be kept in'a locker or recess at the side of the vessel opposite tothat where the framing B is placed. The chain E, is placed over thepulley I, and the link (03) placed in the upper end of the tube O, thepinion F, gearing into the rack (e) at the inner sides of the links (6).The tube O, is forced down a sufficient distance by turning the pinionD, and when in proper position the chain E, is forced down by turningthe pinion F. This chain when its terminal link (03) passes a shortdistance below the keel (f) of the vessel A, is bent upward'by drawingupward the chain G,

and as this chain G, passes through the links near their inner sides andthe ends of the links are beveled or made oblique the chain will becurved so that its link (cl) will project upward and as the upper end ofthe chain E, is forced down, the end ((5) will be forced upward at theopposite side of the vessel, and when it reaches the deck it is graspedby an operator one or more and secured to any proper windlass or device,the links (6) of the chain as a matter of convenience being detached andremoved from the inner chain G, as said'chain E, is elevated. The chainE, has a chain J, attached to its end opposite to that where the link(d) is attached and when the chain F, is drawn fully up at the side ofthe vessel opposite to that where it was forced down, the chain J, ofcourse will be around the vessel and underneath the keel. Any propernumber of chains J, may be thus passed around the vessel, the frame B,being adjusted on the vessel at different parts, and to the chains J,bags K, are attached Which, when the chains J, are properly secured inposition, are inflated from the deck of the vessel through tubes (g)which communicate with the bags K, the tubes being permanently attachedto the bags and sufliciently long to reach from their proper position onthe chain J, to the deck of the vessel, see Fig. 3. The inflated bags orvessels K, of course buoy up the vessel and if a sufficient number ofthem be employed the vessel will be kept afloat. Any merchantman ortrading vessel may be supplied with this apparatus or device at areasonable cost and perhaps it would be preferable to have the links(1)) stowed away detached, and have them placed on the chain G, andconnected together as the chain E, is forced down the tube C, the linksbeing detached and removed from the chain G, as it is drawn up u at theopposite side of the vessel.

From the above description it will be readily seen that the device maybe applied to the raising of sunken vessels, boulders, and detachedobstructions of any kind.

Figs. 2 and 4 show the manner of raising a sunken vessel L. M, is awrecker or a wrecking vessel supplied with an apparatus the same asshown and described in Fig. l. The vessel M, is brought directly overthe sunken vessel L, and the tube C, which may be made of the desiredlength by connecting together any proper number of joints or pieces isforced down until its lower end is a trifle below the keel (a) of thesunker vessel. The chain E, is then forced down the tube C, and thechain E, will pass underneath the keel (a of the vessel L, the chainbeing bent by the resistance of the sand or bottom on which the vesselrests, and in case the vessel L, rests on hard sand," clay, or'anysubstance too hard for the chain E, to pass readily through, the chainE, may be worked up and down so that theterminal link or drill will cutan opening or passage for the chain E. And in case too much resistanceshould be offered to the chain, by the hard clay, gravel or othermaterial on which the vessel rests, so that the chain E, would be benttoo quickly to pass under the keel (a the chain H, is drawn taut inorder to counteract such effect. This will be understood by referring toFig. 6. Any number of chains J, with bags K, attached may be passedunder the vessel L, a sufficient number of bags being used to float thevessel.

We do not claim the employment or use of inflated bags for raisingsunken vessels, llf)or such means have been previously used;

Having thus described our invention what we claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is,

1. The chain E, constructed substantially as shown and provided with oneor more internal chains G, H, and used in connection with the tube C orany equivalent device for the purpose set forth.

2. We also claim the arrangement for operating the tube C, and chain E,to wit, the framing B, provided with the pulley I, and pinions F, D,which gear into the racks (a), (6), made respectively in the tube C, andchain E, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

FREDERICK G. FORD.

PASCAL PLANT. Witnesses:

G. YoRKir. AT LEE, D. M. DONOHOE.

